Palmer to receive Congressional Gold Medal
September 29, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)—Arnold Palmer says he has been selected to receive aCongressional Gold Medal, which honors a person for his distinguishedachievements and contributions.
Palmer, a seven-time major champion whose charisma and hard-charging stylemade an elite sport popular with the masses, said he would receive the medalfrom President Barack Obama during a ceremony Wednesday at the White House.
Palmer is the second golfer to receive the medal. Byron Nelson was honoredshortly after his death in 2006. The Congressional Gold Medal has been presentedto 141 persons or groups, with George Washington receiving the first one in1776.
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Palmer to turn Bay Hill back to par 72
September 29, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)—Bay Hill is returning to a par 72 for the Arnold PalmerInvitational after the tournament host decided that it was more fun for thegallery to see players making birdies.
Bay Hill switched to a par 70 the last three years by converting two par 5sinto par 4s, including the 16th hole, which often was pivotal in deciding thetournament.
Palmer says Tuesday he wants his course to be challenging. He believesrecent renovations of the bunkers, the greens and minor lengthening of someholes has made it more difficult.
But now he’s giving way to entertainment value.
The golf great says, “We’re going to go back to a par 72 and give them anopportunity to make birdies.”
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BRIEF-Golf-New Zealand’s Campbell to play in Indian Open (Reuters)
September 29, 2009
NEW DELHI, Sept 29 (Reuters) – New Zealand’s MichaelCampbell, the 2005 U.S. Open champion, is to play in nextmonth’s $1.25 million Indian Open.
Holder Liang Wenchong of China, Swede Daniel Chopra, twice awinner on the U.S. PGA Tour, and former winner Arjun Atwal ofIndia are also due to compete in the Oct. 8-11 tournament,organisers said on Tuesday.
(Reporting by N.Ananthanarayanan, editing by Tony Jimenez.To query or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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FedEx Cup delivers 4 weeks of interesting golf
September 28, 2009
ATLANTA (AP)—PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem camped out behind the first teeas the final round of the Tour Championship got under way at East Lake. From anydirection, he couldn’t complain about the view.
In front of him was a procession of the game’s top players—Ernie Els,Steve Stricker, Padraig Harrington, Phil Mickelson, followed by Tiger Woods inthe final pairing with Kenny Perry. Looking down the first fairway, both sideswere lined with spectators.
“Record crowd for us here,” Finchem said, referring to an estimated crowdof 24,000. It was the most ever for a Sunday ticket at East Lake, and even moreimpressive considering the Atlanta Falcons game at New England was on TV.
And the day only got better.
FILE – In this Aug. 30, 2009, … AP – Sep 28, 5:45 pm EDT FILE – In this Aug. 30, 2009, … AP – Sep 28, 5:45 pm EDT
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When it was over, Finchem was flanked by golf’s two biggest stars—Mickelson, who closed with a bogey-free 65 to win the Tour Championship; andWoods, who captured the FedEx Cup and eliminated any discussion about the $10million bonus going to the right guy.
PGA Tour officials will huddle over the next month for a post-mortem on theFedEx Cup, although these meetings should be short. The postseason boondoggledelivered everything they could have wanted:
Four tournaments in five weeks featuring a world-class collection ofplayers; some of the strongest leaderboards of the year.
After a year in which the four major champions were ranked outside the top30, the final three playoff events were won by players who are Nos. 1-2-3 in theworld—Woods, Mickelson and Stricker.
Not everyone understood the points system, although it wasn’t hard to figureout who was doing well.
Woods didn’t realize until The Barclays that he could have won the firstthree playoff events and still lost the FedEx Cup. Nor did he realize until theTour Championship that he could have stayed home and showed up at East Lake asthe No. 3 seed.
And while Mickelson joked about winning the tournament and getting thesmaller check, he knew better.
“I didn’t play well the first three FedEx Cup events,” he said. “I don’tdeserve to win the entire FedEx Cup just based on one tournament win. It’s gotto be based on all four. So the way it worked out so far this year, it seemslike it’s just. The best player won. The guy who played the best in all fourevents won.”
The star of the FedEx Cup was Woods. He had the best regular season (fivevictories), played the best in the playoffs (one victory, two runner-upfinishes, his worst performance a tie for 11th), and finished the highest amongthe top five seeds at the Tour Championship.
FILE – In this Sept. 5, 2009, … AP – Sep 28, 5:44 pm EDT
What made the FedEx Cup interesting—which is all it should aspire to be—was Woods’ supporting cast:
— Heath Slocum. The tour kept saying that everyone who made the 125-manfield to start the playoffs would have a chance at the $10 million prize. Slocumfaced some of the longest odds as the No. 124 seed (by two measly points). Hewound up winning The Barclays over Stricker, Woods, Els and Harrington to ensurehimself one of the top seeds.
Whether that was fair will be among the topics to discuss, maybe eventweaked. But it showed that anything is possible.
— Marc Leishman. He was the only rookie at the Tour Championship, and theAustralian defined performance under pressure.
He needed an eagle on the final hole at the Deutsche Bank Championship toadvance to the third round, drilled his approach to about 10 feet and made theputt. A week later, he needed to finish third to make it to East Lake. Playingin the final group with Woods—they had never even met—he went bogey-free inthe final round and shot 69 to tie for second.
— Brandt Snedeker. One of the most compelling moments of the month waswatching Snedeker try to finish off a remarkable rally to get to the TourChampionship, then succumbing to the pressure.
That’s when the FedEx Cup looked a lot like Q-school.
Knowing a bogey would be enough on the final hole at Cog Hill, his 12-footpar putt ran some 3 feet by the hole. He jabbed at the bogey putt and missed,then missed the next one and took triple bogey to end his FedEx Cup season.
The 30th spot instead went to John Senden, who earlier had a 90-yard wedgeto the green and chunked it so badly that it didn’t even reach the front bunker.The payoff was huge for Senden. That 30th spot was worth exemptions to threemajors next year and $407,500 (prize money and FedEx Cup bonus) at the TourChampionship.
— Steve Stricker. His victory at the TPC Boston, where he birdied the lasttwo holes for a one-shot victory, showed the value of the FedEx Cup. Thepractice range was full of chatter about the PGA Tour player of the year, whichis a vote of the players. Stricker had three victories, and the feeling was hemight get the vote if he were to win the FedEx Cup.
Woods then won the BMW Championship by seven shots for his sixth victory,and that was that.
Even then, Woods wound up sharing the spotlight with Mickelson. Theyfinished 1-2 at East Lake—the ninth time in their careers they have done that,with Mickelson a winner in five of those events—and each went home with a bigtrophy.
The FedEx Cup faces one tough encore.
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Ken Green says loss of leg won’t keep him off tour
September 28, 2009
DANBURY, Conn. (AP)—Ken Green has overcome depression, financial troubles anda bad back. He doesn’t plan on letting the loss of a leg keep him off theChampions Tour.
The pro golfer had his lower right leg amputated after an accident in Junethat killed his brother and girlfriend. He said Monday that he hopes to be backon the tour by April.
“It’s probably not realistic, July might be better,” Green told TheAssociated Press. “But I don’t know, I’ve never done this before. The questionis, can I get back to the highest level? Our level and just golf are twodifferent worlds.”
The five-time winner on the PGA Tour was in his hometown, where prosincluding Fred Funk, Curtis Strange, Mark Calcavecchia and Phil Blackmar playedat the Ridgewood Country Club to help raise money to pay some of his medical andpersonal expenses. They expect the event will bring in about $150,000, and plana similar fundraiser in Florida in November.
Ken Green, right, embraces his… AP – Sep 28, 5:02 pm EDT Ken Green, right, embraces his… AP – Sep 28, 5:02 pm EDT
Phil Blackmar, right, gives a … AP – Sep 28, 5:00 pm EDT
Ken Green, right, prepares to … AP – Sep 28, 4:53 pm EDT
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Green was with his brother Billy, his girlfriend Jeannie Hodgin, and his dogNip on June 8, when the RV his brother was driving blew a tire and went offInterstate 20 near Hickory, Miss, hitting a tree.
Ken Green was the only survivor.
Green says he doesn’t remember the accident, just waking up in the hospital.He said the doctors told him they might be able save his leg, but that it wouldnever function properly.
“I told them to cut it off, because that was my only chance,” he said. “Iwouldn’t have been able to swing properly with that leg the way it was.”
Green’s sister, Shelley White, has been with him since the accident. Shesaid he has been focused on golf almost since the moment he woke up. Green, whois being fitted with a special prosthetic that includes an ankle that willpivot, had hoped to be able to play a few holes on Monday, but said the pain inhis leg would not allow it.
“He has no patience,” White said. “He wants everything to happen atonce.”
Green said this isn’t the toughest thing he’s ever been through. Aftergaining a reputation as one of the most outspoken golfers on the PGA tour, hewent through a bout with depression in the 1990s, which combined with a backinjury almost cost him his golf career.
He lost his Tour card in 2000, and said he made no money between 2005 and2008, the year he turned 50 and became eligible for the Champions Tour.
He was 54th on the money list with $123,906 in 11 appearances at the time ofthe accident.
“When I was fighting through my depression, that, I believe was harder,because I didn’t know I was in it,” he said. “Whereas this one, you know whatyou have to tackle. You have to get your leg, then you have to go change yourswing, and then you have to go start playing like a pro again.”
Phil Blackmar, right, gives a … AP – Sep 28, 5:00 pm EDT
Calcavecchia, a longtime friend, said he’s among those who believe Green canmake it all the way back.
“This is going to have a happy ending for sure,” Calcavecchia said. “Evenif he doesn’t get back to the level he wants to. He just wants to play golf. Andif he does reach his goal—beating some guys on Champions Tour—well, he knowshe’s going to make history if he does that.”
Green acknowledges that he lost a lot in the accident, but said he’s neverbeen one to ask, “Why me?”
“Obviously, I lost three of my best friends and I think I’d be doing them adishonor if I didn’t come back from this,” he said. “Just ‘cause I lost a leg,you have to say, ‘OK, we’ll work around that.”’
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Golf-Woods sparked by younger generation in Presidents Cup (Reuters)
September 28, 2009
LOS ANGELES, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Tiger Woods, fresh from his$10-million pay day for winning the FedExCup, said he wasenergised by the mix of younger players in the U.S. squad fornext month’s Presidents Cup.
Woods, who missed last year’s Ryder Cup recovering fromreconstructive knee surgery, said on Monday that the Americanswere switching to a new generation for team golf.
“I certainly wish I could have been a part of that team lastyear,” Woods, 33, said about the U.S. ending a nine-year RyderCup drought against Europe with a team including six rookies.
“There was a different kind of chemistry last year. We had amix of older players and some younger guys in their 20s,” hetold a news conference promoting his foundation’s WorldChallenge tournament in December.
“Over the years, usually I’ve been the youngest one.”
Woods said the new kind of U.S. team would again be ondisplay against the Internationals in the Presidents Cup matchesin San Francisco starting on Oct. 8.
“This Presidents Cup is different. Lucas (Glover, the U.S.Open winner) and Sean (O’Hair) and AK (Anthony Kim) and Hunter(Mahan)—it’s a mixed generation of players.
“It’s going to be fun to be part of a team that’s young likethat, and also we’ve got Kenny (Perry) who is 49 now. I thinkwe’ve got a great mix of players.”
CHANGING GUARD
Woods, who has played in five Ryder Cup and five PresidentsCup teams, said the mix represented a changing of the guard.
“You can see the generation leaving us now, with Freddie(Couples, the U.S. captain) and Davis (Love) not making theteams.
“They’re at that age now they’re not going to be part of theteams … so this is another generation of players. So it’sgoing to be fun to be a part of that.”
Woods said he was also curious to see Couples as captain.
“I’m looking forward to see how Freddie speaks in front ofall of us,” Woods said. “As you know, Freddie starts in onedirection and ends in another. It will be interesting to seewhat kind of tangents he goes on.”
The Presidents Cup experience should also be enlivened bythe presence of former basketball great Michael Jordan, who willbe one of Couples’s assistants.
“It will be fun,” Woods said about having golf buddy Jordanaround. “I’ve been a part of several Ryder Cup teams whereMichael has come and hung out with us a couple nights here andthere but he’s never been instrumental and part of the team.
“This will be different. A lot of the guys are lookingforward to getting to know him. Geez, probably him and MuhammadAli are the top two greatest athletes that’s ever lived. It willbe fun for the entire team to hang out with him.”
(Writing by Larry Fine in New York, Editing by Ed Osmond; Toquery or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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Ken Green planning to play again next year
September 28, 2009
DANBURY, Conn. (AP)—Ken Green says he’s not going to let losing a leg keep himoff the Champions Tour.
Green, who had his lower right leg amputated after a recreational vehicleaccident in June that killed his brother and girlfriend, says he’s hoping to beback on the tour by April.
Green was in his hometown of Danbury, where pros including Fred Funk, MarkCalcavecchia and Phil Blackmar played in a charity event Monday to help raisemoney to pay some of Green’s medical and personal expenses.
Green says he lost a lot in the accident, but won’t let it take golf fromhim. He’s already begun hitting golf balls, and is being fitted with a specialprosthetic that includes an ankle that will pivot.
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Inside the field: Turning Stone Resort Championship (PGATOUR.com)
September 28, 2009
Who's playing in the final event before the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup? We've analyzed based on the following categories (please check the bottom for late-breaking updates to the field):
Top 30s PGA TOUR Money List Official World Golf Ranking Dustin Johnson (15) Robert Allenby (29) Rory Sabbatini (21) John Rollins (25) Steve Marino (29) Click for money list Click for Rankings 2009 Tournament Winners Player Event(s) won Tournament Dustin Johnson 1 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Rory Sabbatini 1 HP Byron Nelson Championship Bo Van Pelt 1 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee Mark Wilson 1 Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun Past winners of the Turning Stone Resort Championship Steve Flesch (2007) Dustin Johnson (2008) Major winners Player Major(s) won Tournament Steve Elkington 1 1995 PGA Championship Ben Curtis 1 2003 British Open David Duval 1 2001 British Open Rich Beem 1 2002 PGA Championship David Toms 1 2001 PGA Championship Todd Hamilton 1 2004 British Open Davis Love III 1 1997 PGA Championship Mark Calcavecchia 1 1989 British Open Corey Pavin 1 1995 U.S. Open International players 
Argentina Andres Romero 
Australia Michael Sim, Marc Leishman, James Nitties, Aron Price, Aaron Baddeley, Jarrod Lyle, Adam Scott, Nathan Green, Mathew Goggin, Greg Chalmers, Nick O'Hern, Robert Allenby, Stuart Appleby, John Senden, Rod Pampling, Peter Lonard, Steve Elkington 
England Justin Rose, Brian Davis, Greg Owen 
Germany Alex Cejka 
India Arjun Atwal 
Korea K.J. Choi, Charlie Wi 
Scotland Martin Laird 
South Africa Rory Sabbatini 
Sweden Carl Pettersson, Richard S. Johnson, Fredrik Jacobson, Mathias Gronberg 
Zimbabwe Brendon de Jonge Younger and older Young Guns (under 30) Grizzled Vets (40 and over) Derek Fathauer Nicholas Thompson Ken Duke Todd Hamilton Colt Knost Bill Haas Rod Pampling Billy Mayfair Michael Sim John Merrick Chris DiMarco Tim Petrovic Webb Simpson James Oh Cliff Kresge Woody Austin Brendon Todd Aron Price Rick Price Davis Love III Casey Wittenberg Chez Reavie Steve Flesch Jeff Maggert Dustin Johnson Chris Stroud Kent Jones Steve Elkington Marc Leishman Peter Tomasulo Peter Lonard Rocco Mediate Spencer Levin Aaron Watkins Jay Williamson Steve Lowery Martin Laird Aaron Baddeley Glen Day Mark Calcavecchia Ryan Moore Ricky Barnes Tommy Armour III Corey Pavin James Nitties Jarrod Lyle Tom Pernice Jr. Michael Allen Jeff Overton Leif Olson Tony Saraceno Steve Marino Andres Romero Troy Matteson Brandt Snedeker Justin Rose D.J. Trahan Adam Scott Brendon de Jonge Kevin Stadler Michael Letzig Matt Weibring Field updates Here are the most recent updates to Turning Stone Resort Championship field: Jerry Kelly Withdrew after deadline Chez Reavie Withdrew after deadline Michael Sim Sponsor – unrestricted John Mallinger Withdrew after deadline Troy Kelly Withdrew after deadline Tyler Aldridge Withdrew after deadline
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ANALYSIS-Golf-Woods and Mickelson highlight successful FedExCup (Reuters)
September 28, 2009
By Mark Lamport-Stokes
ATLANTA, Sept 28 (Reuters) – After two successive years oftweaking the points structure for the lucrative FedExCup playoffevents, the PGA Tour appears to have come close to finding theideal recipe to produce a blockbuster finale.
The season-long points race ended with a flourish at theTour Championship on Sunday with four players having theopportunity to clinch the $10 million bonus over the last nineholes at East Lake Golf Club.
World number one Tiger Woods, the most consistent golferduring the 2009 campaign, ultimately took the title afterfinishing second at East Lake, three shots behind fellowAmerican Phil Mickelson.
Although eyebrows may be raised over the fact that Woodsclinched the grand prize despite not winning the final playoffevent, there was agreement among the players that the correctresult had been achieved.
“I didn’t play well the first three FedExCup events,”Mickelson told reporters after sealing his 37th PGA Tour victorywith a flawless 65 in tough conditions.
“I don’t deserve to win the entire FedExCup just based onone tournament win. The best player won, the guy who played thebest in all four events won, but I liked the fact that I wasable to make up extra ground here in the final event.”
Woods, who won the inaugural FedExCup in 2007 after coastingto an eight-stroke victory in the Tour Championship, recognisedthe need to hit form late in the season.
“The whole idea is to play well at the end and that’s kindof how it’s structured,” said the 33-year-old, who led thepoints standings going into the Tour Championship after winningthe third playoff event, the BMW Championship.
RIGHT TIMES
“You just have to play well at the right times,” addedWoods, who won six title on the 2009 PGA Tour. “It is what itis. It’s very similar to what they do with NASCAR, what they tryto do with playoffs in other sports.”
When the FedExCup series was launched in 2007, the pointssystem was too rigid, leaving players with far too much groundto make up on the leaders going into the final stretch.
Last year, the final playoff event proved to beanti-climactic with Vijay Singh merely needing to show up forthe Tour Championship to clinch the trophy.
What had been dubbed as the PGA Tour’s much-trumpeted newera in 2007 ended limply in 2008 as Fijian Singh simply neededto complete the final round after winning the first two playoffevents.
This year, however, was a very different story with everyplayer in the field of 30 having a chance to seal FedExCuphonours.
The Tour’s bold attempt in 2007 to breathe life into itslate-season events with a NASCAR-style finale has finally caughtthe attention of the fans and especially the players.
“It’s provided a lot of excitement,” said Steve Stricker,who briefly edged ahead of Woods in the race on Sunday beforeslipping back with bogeys on 16 and 17.
“All the players coming in here had a legitimate chance atwinning the FedExCup. It was certainly a lot closer than it hasbeen over the last two years.
“I gave it a run, and it was a lot of fun,” added theAmerican, who finished third in the points standings behindWoods and Mickelson.
The 2009 FedExCup was unquestionably a success, althoughsome have suggested further excitement could be injected byswitching the Tour Championship finale to a matchplay format.Time will tell if further tweaks will be made for 2010. (Editing by Ed Osmond. To query or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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Dreams, nightmares will be realized in Fall Series (PGATOUR.com)
September 28, 2009
While the top 30 players were dreaming very real dreams of unfathomable riches at East Lake last week, a much larger group of their colleagues were searching and dreaming of something else entirely.
Some of those later dreams were of reaching new heights in careers, but far more of them were nightmares. Like most nightmares they were accompanied by instant, wide-awake panic and cold sweats.
These nightmares are not about gremlins under the bed or intruders in the closet. They are not of endless falling or being attacked by a vicious clown at the circus. They are far more real than that.
These dreams are about lip outs, chunks, bogeys and, worst of all, q-school. The rest of the best will be playing for the first time in more than a month this week at the Turning Stone Resort Championship in a bid to save their jobs.
Harrison Frazar is No. 125 on … PGATOUR.com – Sep 28, 12:34 pm EDT Harrison Frazar is No. 125 on … PGATOUR.com – Sep 28, 12:34 pm EDT YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index = 1; YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_lazy_images = [http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/turner/df/fullj.3629a8f66cdba9ce1afc929612f12ce9/maginnes200909280.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=102&yc=1&wc=238&hc=264&q=70&sig=BB9h7IVRPh.xjN5cnM.z5g--]; YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(window,load,YAHOO.Sports.articleLazyLoadCarousel.init); 1 of 2 Golf Gallery function prev_photo() { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index > 0) { goto_photo(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index – 1); } else { goto_photo(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index); }}function next_photo() { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index 0) { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_prev, prev); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_prev, prev_disabled); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_prev, prev_disabled); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_prev, prev); } if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index < YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index) { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_next, next); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_next, next_disabled); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_next, next_disabled); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_next, next); }*/}function goto_photo(p) { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos) { for(i = 0; i < YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos.length; i++) { if (i == p) { YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos[i], display, ); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos[i], display, none); } } if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page) { YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page.innerHTML =(p + 1); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index = p; } } update_buttons();}YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_init = function () { YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(article_carousel_prev, click, prev_photo); YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(article_carousel_next, click, next_photo); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index = 0; YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page = YAHOO.util.Dom.get(carousel_page); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos = YAHOO.util.Dom.getElementsByClassName(item, div, leadphoto); if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos) { goto_photo(0); }}YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_init();
Put the points away. The rest of the season is all about cold hard cash and finishing in the top 125 on the money list. Harrison Frazar is the man on the bubble, 125th on the money list, and hasn't played since the Barclays.
Two weeks ago there were 30 exempt PGA TOUR players teeing it up in the Albertsons Boise Open on the Nationwide Tour just to keep the rust off their games. While some players tried to take advantage of that opportunity, others who are outside the top 125 have simply been idle since the Wyndham Championship. Competitively idle doesn't always mean mentally relaxed, especially this time of year.
Whatever the theory a player employed, there are a bunch of players who have enjoyed the game at the most elite level who will be struggling to keep their jobs over the last five events. Currently outside the top 125 are Stuart Appleby, Vaughn Taylor, Chris DiMarco, Corey Pavin and Rocco Mediate to name but a few.
These players find themselves in the unfamiliar position of battling to the finish at a time of year usually reserved for reflection. Playing the game professionally is funny like that. One year you have the world at your feet, and the next you are writing the most painful check in golf. Its not the $4,000 or $5,000 that bothers these guys, they are hardly destitute, it is the idea that they may have to go to q-school at all.
For a veteran, and in the case of the men that I just named, winners of important events writing the check to q-school is the first tangible indication that the year has been a failure. But that comes at a time when there is still hope. Q-school applications were due weeks ago.
Following Turning Stone, there are four more events in which these guys can turn their year around. A win at any of these events will turn a bad year into a triumphant one. A solid finish to the year would mean that they would live to fight another day, or in this case another year.
For these veterans the situation is hardly as dire as it is for some others who have only two legs and 14 clubs to stand on and nothing like money list exemptions and past champion status to lean on. Players like Brendon de Jonge and Chris Stroud have their feet to the fire, and for them the time is now. The situation is simply get it done or lose your job.
There is a small parachute for those players who finish in the 126-150 category. They will be exempt to the finals of q-school and have limited status on the PGA TOUR. Finish outside the top 150 and the situation gets a lot stickier. For those guys it is a straight shot from the PGA TOUR and the Children's Miracle Network Classic at Disney to the second stage of q-school the next week.
There will be at least a dozen or so players who finish on Friday or Sunday at Disney and have to check their position on the computer to see if they are going home or to one of the six second-stage sites scattered throughout the country.
As a player at this point you have to try to find the positives. There are still five tournaments left, five more chances to find your game and secure your job. The other element is that these guys have all had plenty of time to fix what was ailing their golf games.
Prior to the FedExCup era, a player would play every week in an effort to find the magic, often contributing to their own demise through fatigue and mismanagement. The current schedule forces those who miss the playoffs to sit back and take the inevitable stock of their situations. For some, this forced hiatus will reap the necessary rewards. They will have been able to use the time to quiet the demons that gather momentum in bogeys and push a player toward faulty decision-making.
But when your job is on the line, your career is in jeopardy and your dreams of golf immortality are tested, it is hard to find peace of mind. It is the inevitable nature of things that there will be tremendous highs and devastating lows over the next five tournaments.
The pressure of the situation is inevitable and ever present. When asked, they will downplay the situation, say that they aren't thinking about the big picture, just trying to play solid golf and let the rest take care of itself. Don't drink that Kool-Aid. Because when you are in this situation with your job on the line it eats at you, it bothers you and in this game you have no one to blame but yourself.
As the season grows older and the opportunities become few it keeps you up at night. When sleep comes it can be fitful. If you are one of those veterans having the odd off-year and somehow you manage to turn things around in the Fall Series, there isn't so much joy as there is relief.
Relief comes in many forms. In this case, relief that you have another year in the sun.
Relief that you have—or still have—what it takes to play the game at the highest level.
Relief from knowing that you are financially viable for another long chunk of time.
And finally, relief from the nightmares as they make way to dreams of glory the next time the calendar turns.
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